top of page
Leonard - Leach House

92 Pleasant St

1852

Architectural Style

Greek Revival, Italianate

Significance

Architecture

Use Type

Single Family Dwelling House

Neighborhood

Bridgewater Town Center

Massachusetts Historical Commission Report

Architectural Significance

Situated on the west side of Pleasant Street, the Greek Revival/Italianate house is an attractive focal point at the head of Union Street. It is composed of a rectangular side hall plain main block which rises 2 1/2 stories to a gable roof with return eaves. To the rear is an L-shaped 2-story wing and a stable. Particularly noteworthy are the main entrance's enframements. The front door is flanked by narrow, multipane sidelights, pilasters and a heavy classicized entablature. Windows are fully enframed and contain 6/6 wood sash. A plaque on the building reads "1852."

Historical Significance

This house is part of Bridgewater Center's outstanding collection of c. 1845-1890 Italianate houses. This style is rarely found in the outlying rural areas of the town. Early-mid 19th century maps indicate that a G. Leonard owned this house although J.E. Crane in History of Plymouth County (1884) indicates that this house was built for J.C. Leach. Leach was living here by the mid 1870's.

By the early 1870's James Cushing Leach owned this house. Born June 11, 1831, Leach grew up along the shores of Nippenicket Pond in the western portion of Bridgewater. He was initially apprenticed with the town's mid-19th century master builder Ambrose Keith and subsequently worked for
J.E. Carver, the cotton gin manufacturer. He erected for himself "a handsome cottage on Springhill Avenue" before settling on Pleasant Street. In 1870 he began the manufacture of oil proof paper which was extensively used by boat and shoe manufacturers. For many years he was chairman of the town Republican Committee and was a director of the Brockton National Bank. He was a lineal descendant of Giles Leach who settled in Bridgewater in 1665 and James Keith, the town's first minister. J.C. Leach owned this house until at least c. 1905.

bottom of page